


little girl, you're not so young

by freyjareina



Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ellie & Joel (The Last of Us) Bonding, Ellie's so uselessly in love and Dina is struggling w her feelings, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Internalized Homophobia, Mild Sexual Content, Romance, Slow Burn, Swearing, Useless Lesbian Ellie (The Last of Us), lots of swearing, mentioned Homophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:21:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25805776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freyjareina/pseuds/freyjareina
Summary: Joel is hired as a groundskeeper for the Jackson family. He and Ellie pack up their old lives and move all the way from Massachusetts to Wyoming. Ellie tries to make the best of the situation, though she can tell it is going to be a struggle to become situated in her new life so far away from home. But when she lays her eyes on the Jackson family daughter, Dina, she realizes that maybe her new life won't be so terrible after all.Ellie and Dina begin to grow closer, and a strong friendship begins to bloom between them. What Dina doesn't know is that Ellie's got the biggest crush on her ever, and what Ellie doesn't know is that Dina shares those same feelings. The two of them learn how to be in love.
Relationships: Dina & Jesse (The Last Of Us), Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us), Ellie & Jesse (The Last of Us), Ellie & Joel (The Last of Us), Esther/Joel (The Last of Us)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 77





	1. step outside and i'll show you why

**Author's Note:**

> my first story published here so please be kind :)

Ellie was used to her and her dad moving. The two of them had never been able to stay in the same place for more than a year, it seemed. Her dad, Joel, was always picking up new jobs as a groundskeeper. Just as of last month, he’d been fired by the ill old lady who swore she could keep up with her place by herself. She’d died a week later, and Joel found himself incredibly prompted to leave the city for good.

This move was different, though. They weren’t just hopping cities-- Joel had been hired to move from Boston all the way to fuckin’ Jackson County, Wyoming. Wyoming, of all places! But honestly, who was Ellie to complain. She was just glad Joel had been able to pick up another job so quickly. Sometimes it would be months before Joel was officially hired, but this time, the contract was signed pretty quickly.

Ellie didn’t know jack shit about who Joel had been hired by. The idea made her a little nervous, after all, as a groundskeeper she and Joel were likely to be living on the property. All Joel had told her is that they had hella good money, a big-ass mansion, and a daughter a few years older than Ellie. Maybe the two of them would be friends, Joel had suggested. Ellie doubted it, she wasn’t the most likable person around.

Joel flicked his hand over the stereo until he reached his desired country station, which was quick to get Ellie out of her thoughts. They were in Joel’s blue pickup truck, shoved close in the front seats as the back ones were filled with boxes of the pair’s possessions.

“God, Joel. Can’t we listen to anything other than country music for once?” Ellie asked, letting out a loud sigh. She slumped forward in her seat.

“Ellie, you know I can’t stand all of your loud punk-rock stuff. Feel free to put in some earbuds.” Joel responded with a hefty laugh, turning the country up a bit as the two began to drive away from the motel they’d stayed the night at. 

Ellie let out a hum, deciding she’d go ahead and make another snarky remark. “Okay,  _ old man _ . I’m sorry my music hurts your sensitive dinosaur ears.” She began to remove her headphones from her backpack. They were wired ones, knotted at the base where Ellie hadn’t bothered to untangle them.

“Ha-ha Ellie, you’re so darn hilarious,” Joel said sarcastically and patted her shoulder. 

Ellie rolled her eyes with a smirk, pushing his shoulder back as she turned up her own music. She turned to the window and let out a loud sigh, leaning on her elbow to watch the passing trees as they began to head out into the countryside.

...She wasn’t even listening to rock this time, either. It was indie fuckin’ folk. But she wasn’t about to admit that to Joel.

\--

Ellie squinted, her face scrunching up. She’d fallen asleep and was being awakened by the sound of a rather loud advertisement ringing in her earbuds. “God, that’s so loud!” She quickly removed the earbuds, practically throwing them down. The girl yawned and rubbed her eyes, looking over to Joel.

“You know you snore, Ellie?” he asked, letting out a chuckle. “You snore so loudly. I would have taken a uh, video, but I couldn’t get my phone out. Fell down the seat.”

“You are unbelievable, you know that, Joel?” Ellie laughed and rolled her eyes. She sat up straighter, stretching out. “So, how close are we? My nap felt pretty long,” she turned her phone on for a second, reading the time.  _ 4:50 P-M.  _ “Four hours, give or take.”

“Believe it or not, today’s our last day drivin’. We’ll be there in less than ten minutes. You woke up just in time, kid.” Joel responded, tapping the GPS with one of his hands, keeping the other on the wheel.

“Damn! We made good time, didn’t we, Joel? We don’t have to spend another night in some shitty-ass motel,” Ellie laughed, leaning back again. 

“Might wanna watch your language around the Jacksons, kiddo.”

Ellie’s face scrunched up again, this time out of confusion. “Wait, wait. Aren’t we moving to a city named  _ Jackson _ ?” She looked at Joel and blinked a few times.

Joel smiled. “Turns out back in the day, the Jacksons had quite the influence over Jackson County. They owned the whole town for a bit, before splittin’ it up with some other folks. They kept the name, though.”

“Weird!” Ellie snorted. “Can’t believe we’re gonna be living in the same area as these people, and you’ll be watching their mansion.”

\--

Joel’s old pickup truck slowed to a stop as a massive mansion came into view. The grounds were overgrown with weeds, but not in a terrible way. Ellie just thought they needed some work. Suppose that was what they hired Joel to do. Watch the mansion and cut the grass. What else does a groundskeeper do?

Joel parked and Ellie let out a loud sigh. She was so fucking ready to get out of the car, and she  _ really  _ needed to use the restroom. She was also hungry.  _ So hungry.  _

“Ready, kiddo?” Joel asked, shutting the pickup truck.

“So ready,” Ellie answered, pushing open the old truck’s door and shutting it. Immediately she felt herself go into shock.

Sitting on the porch of the massive mansion was one of the prettiest girls Ellie had ever seen in her goddamn life. Tanned skin and dark hair tucked into a ponytail. She was pretty short and had a sharp jawline. Faded freckles dotted over her face. She was smiling at a boy standing next to her, a tall dude with dark hair, probably in his early twenties.

Ellie watched the girl look to Joel’s pickup truck and back at the house. She yelled something inside, but Ellie couldn’t make out exactly what it was.

An older woman emerged from the house. She looked quite similar to the younger girl, the same hooked nose and tan skin. Her hair was greying around the edges and was styled in a pixie cut.

The woman jogged up to Joel, waving with a smile. 

“Hello! You must be the new groundskeeper, Joel Miller?” The woman smiled. “I’m Christine Jackson, owner of the property,” she shrugged and let out a laugh. “We’re so happy to have you living here.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s me,” Joel shook Christine’s hand, motioning for Ellie to come over. She shuffled over to her father, reaching out to shake the woman’s hand as well.

“Oh, this must be your daughter. Ellie Miller, right?” The woman smiled, shaking Ellie’s hand.

“Ehm,” Ellie looked to Joel, shuffling her feet a little awkwardly. “Williams, actually. But yeah, I’m his daughter. It’s so nice to meet you, Ms. Jackson.”

Christine hummed with a smile and turned back to the porch. “Dina! Jesse! Come meet Joel and Ellie.”

The two teens stood up quickly, talking amongst themselves. They walked quickly over to Joel’s pickup truck. Ellie couldn’t help but stare at the girl...Dina, was it? She reminded Ellie of all the good parts of her last few girlfriends, Cat and Riley. 

“...Dina, nice to meet you,” Ellie was torn from her thoughts as the gorgeous girl in front of her held out her hand. Ellie felt fucking frozen, as she stood there and made extremely awkward eye contact with the girl.

“Ellie, come on, use your words kiddo,” Joel laughed, nudging the taller girl. Ellie snapped out of it, shaking her head a little.

“Sorry,” she stuck her hand out, shaking it. “I’m, uh, Ellie.” 

_ Nice going, dumbass.  _ Dina gave an amused smile, her eyes looking between Ellie and Joel. Ellie bit the inside of her lip as she realized how stupid she must look to Dina, standing like a goddamn deer in headlights.

“And I’m Jesse,” the boy said, holding out his hand with a cautious smile. 

Ellie returned it, shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you guys. You seem cool. Super cool.”

_ GODDAMN IT ELLIE. You’re a fucking MESS. _

“Well, you two. Why don’t you come inside for a tour, and then we can get you settled in the groundkeeper’s cottage? I promise it’s really nice,” Christine said with a cheery smile, motioning for Joel and Ellie to follow. Ellie tore her eyes away from Dina to follow after Joel, taking a deep breath as Dina and Jesse walked away from them, giggling.

_ This is gonna be a long fuckin’ trip. _

\--

The mansion itself was beautiful, to say the absolute least. It stood out in the town of Jackson County, an old-fashioned farmhouse that was built onto several times. It was white, with columns of marble holding up the porch. Intricate patterns were framed over the sides of the mansion by pieces of wood. It was four or so stories high, rising taller than some of the nearby trees. It looked ethereal, Ellie thought.

“Alright, we’ll start the tour, well...here,” Christine shrugged and gave a small smile. “This here is the Jackson Mansion. It was, uh, built by one of my great-great- _ great _ -grandfathers and his family back in 1892. The Jacksons, we’ve kind of been living here ever since.”

Ellie looked at Joel and raised an eyebrow, smirking. She didn’t mean any harm by it, but Joel returned her gesture with a friendly-ish scowl anyway.

“Okay, uh,” Christine interrupted. She didn’t notice Ellie’s expression as she fumbled for her keys, eventually finding them. “Don’t worry Joel, we’ll be sure to get you a key ring as complicated on this one,” she barked a laugh, finally opening up the front door.

“Lookin’ forward to it, Ma’am,” Joel responded, putting his hand on Ellie’s shoulder to guide her inside.

From behind her, Ellie heard someone else enter. She turned around quickly to see Dina and Jesse shut the door.

“Thought we’d come along for the tour,” Dina winked, elbowing Jesse in the shoulder. Ellie felt heat rise to her face as she decided not to say anything.  _ Don’t wanna mess anything up again. They probably already think I’m a literal clown.  _

Ellie turned back to see the main area of the house in front of her. The inside was more modern than the outside, with comfortable and contemporary decor. There was a massive flatscreen TV seated in the front of the room, along with a stained glass coffee table and gorgeous leather couches. Ellie scratched her arm, thinking of how she  _ really isn’t rich enough to even be in this room.  _

“This here’s the living room. Well...the first of two. We mainly use this one during the day and our housekeeper keeps it really nice. She’s off work today but you both will be able to meet her tomorrow,” Christine motioned for them to follow her again.

The group followed Christine into the kitchen. It was gorgeous, as the rest of the house was, and there were appliances out that Ellie swore she had never seen before. They went around a few more rooms but didn’t really head upstairs as of yet.

Christine let out a sigh. “Man, this house is  _ too big _ , I swear. We can continue the tour of the rest later. After all, I don’t think you’ll be inside the house much, Joel. It’s the outside we really should be touring.”

Joel let out a hearty laugh. “Yeah. That really is true, ma’am.”

“Here, here’s an idea. I’ll give Joel the rest of the tour outside,” she motioned to Joel and then turned to Jesse and Dina. “Why don’t you two take Ellie and the pickup truck up to the guest house?”

Dina nodded excitedly, and Ellie felt a warm rush. She couldn’t stop herself from giving the shorter girl a tiny smile and looked down at her feet

“Actually, Mrs. Jackson, I’m so sorry,” Jesse spoke up from behind Ellie. “But my mom needs me home to help with dinner. I’d love to help Ellie and Joel feel more welcome, so I’ll be back early tomorrow?” He shrugged.

“Yes, yes, that sounds good, Jesse,” Christine sighed and gave a half-laugh. “Tell Robin I said hey and asked her how she was!” 

The boy gave a joking salute, heading back out the front door.

“Guess it’s just you and me now, Ellie,” Dina smiled, opening the door for her.

“Uh, guess so,” Ellie responded with a timid smile. “Thanks.”

\--

Ellie unlocked Joel’s old pickup truck, hopping into the driver’s seat. She unlocked Dina’s door and she jumped in as well.

“So…” Dina tapped her fingers over her jeans. “How do you like what you’ve seen so far?"

Ellie started the truck, looking towards Dina. “Oh, well, the house is like, super gorgeous. And the landscape is certainly a change from places I’ve lived before. Feels...fresher, in a way. Sorry, am I rambling?”

“No, no,” Dina laughed as Ellie began to pull out of the driveway. “I like it when people talk to me. Makes a conversation less dry. So, where’d you live before?”

“Boston. We moved around a lot but usually just to other areas of Massachusetts. Born and raised there,” Ellie smiled. “How old are you?”  _ Shit. Was that weird to ask? _

“Just turned twenty-one a few weeks ago. What about you?” Dina propped herself up on her elbow. “Oh, take a left here,” she motioned for Ellie to turn.

She steered her way off the main road to a side path. It was a gravel road. “Oh, me? Nineteen. Turned, uh, a few days ago, actually.”

“Nice,” Dina responded. Ellie noticed the shorter girl kept her eyes on her the whole time. Dina’s eyes were really pretty, it was as if one could get lost in the deep browns. They looked almost amber in the evening sunlight. 

“Alright, this is it here,” Dina motioned forward. Ellie snapped out of it, shocked she didn’t hit a tree or something while looking at Dina. The house in front of her was small, like a cottage, but it was well-kept and pretty. She and Dina got out of the truck, the doors closing loudly behind them.

Dina opened the door to the cottage, tossing Ellie the keys. The two girls entered, and Ellie took a deep breath. She nearly gasped at what she saw. It was thoroughly carpeted, with a large living room and two white wool couches. There was a smaller flatscreen TV and dozens of paintings of flowers on the walls.

To the left, Ellie could see the kitchen, with old-fashioned wallpaper and appliances painted yellow. To the right, there was a hall, which Ellie assumed lead to the bedrooms and bathroom. And in front of them, beyond the living room, were two pretty glass windows and a log balcony, sitting over a view of the entire valley.

“Holy fucking shit!” Ellie laughed, a smile forming on her face, “this is so fucking cool, oh my god.”

Dina raised an eyebrow. “I’m guessing you cuss a lot?”

Ellie felt heat rise to her face again. “Ugh, sorry. Joel told me I shouldn’t swear too much here. Did that just fuck...sorry, mess this up?”

“Nah. Just try not to do it around my mom,” Dina laughed. “I’m glad you like the place. Across the road is where our housekeeper Esther lives. The cottage is pretty much like this one, but I must say I like this one’s view a lot better.”

Ellie laughed. “I’m, uh, glad. It’s really pretty here,” she found her eyes scanning over Dina, flicking between her body and her face a few times. She found herself biting the inside of her lip to stop. She almost convinced herself that Dina was looking at her the same way… 

“So, um,” Ellie attempted to break the silence. “Is...Jessie your boyfriend?”

“On and off,” Dina shrugged, sitting down on one of the couches, motioning for Ellie to join her. The taller girl obliged, sitting next to the dark-haired girl. “Right now we’re together, but next week we may not be. We kind of just...dunno, agree to stay in love?”

Ellie hummed, nodding. “Well, uh, I’m gonna get my stuff from the truck. And some of Joel’s stuff. He tends to take forever to move in…”

“Right!” Dina responded with a smile, standing up quickly. “Lemme help you with all that. Moving in can be, like, super stressful.”

The two girls made their way back outside and to Joel’s pickup truck. Ellie found herself stealing glances at the gorgeous, probably straight, girl walking beside her. She didn’t even know her, but for some reason, her heart felt like it was going to fly out of her chest just by looking at her. 

Dina opened one of the doors, looking back to Ellie, and smiling softly. The two of them began to collect the boxes Joel had packed away in his truck, carrying them inside. 

“By the way,” Dina asked, huffing. “What do you want for dinner? Mom wants to have you and your dad over tonight.”

“Oh,” Ellie said, blinking. “I...um...I enjoy, like, pizza and stuff.”  _ God, Ellie. She probably thinks your trashy. You haven’t had a decent meal in your life. Sucks both you and Joel can’t cook for shit.  _ She bit the inside of her lip as she looked at Dina.

“Dude, our chef makes the best pizza. You  _ need  _ to try it.”

_ Of course, they have a chef,  _ Ellie thought absentmindedly and blinked.  _ Rich people, man. _

“Here,” Dina added, getting her phone out. “I’m gonna head back to the house to help with dinner since it’s already pretty late. Why don’t you add your number so we can text later? I can add mine to yours, too. I mean if you have any questions, y’know,” she chuckled.

Ellie gave a timid smile and hesitantly reached out to take Dina’s phone, handing the shorter girl her phone as well. She quickly punched in her number and handed the phone back. She watched as Dina added a name to the number. 

“ _ Pizza and stuff _ ,” Ellie read out loud, raising an eyebrow. “Wow.”

“I’ll change it once we have more inside jokes. I think we’re gonna be pretty good friends, Ellie. See ya’ later,” Dina tapped the taller girl on the shoulder before heading out and shutting the door.

As Dina left, Ellie added a name to Dina’s contact in her own phone. She smiled down at her phone, typing ‘Has a chef’. Ellie figured it was funny, but she didn’t know what Dina would think of it. She figured the shorter girl probably had a far better sense of humor than she did.

\--

Ellie passed the time by picking out her new room and beginning to unpack. She decided she’d give Joel the liberty of the larger room, as it was only fair. After all, he was the one working at the mansion.

The smaller room Ellie had chosen was fairly cozy. It had two windows looking out over the valley and a large queen-sized bd. Ellie took a deep breath and began to get to work setting up her new room. She rolled out several posters featuring  _ Savage Starlight  _ and other comics, coughing at the dust that had collected on them during the move.

She stood up on her bed, beginning to fasten the posters to the wall. As Ellie hung them up, she heard the front door open and close. “Joel?” she called out, hopping down from the bed and heading toward the door.

“Hey, kiddo,” Joel said. “Christine and Dina invited us over for dinner. Says they’re making pizza. We should probably head over now, they said dinner’s almost done.”

“I heard,” Ellie smirked. “Did you know they have a  _ chef _ ? Like a personal one?”

“Calm down kiddo,” Joel chuckled. “I don’t doubt that they have a chef, but I’m pretty sure Miss Dina was referrin’ to her pops. Mr. Jackson got off work today, I just met him.”

“Oh,” Ellie said, raising her scarred eyebrow. “Damn. I really thought I’d get to meet, like, a professional chef. What’s Mr. Jackson do for a living?”

“Surgeon or somethin’,” Joel responded motioning for Ellie to follow him out to the truck. “You wanna drive?”

“Hell yeah!” Ellie responded with a smile. Joel tossed her the keys and she started up the truck. The pair headed back down the gravel road, then onto the main road. Soon enough they were back at the Jackson’s Mansion. Dina was out front waving.

Ellie took a deep breath, smiling to herself at Dina’s expression. She and Joel hopped out of the car, heading to the front door.


	2. ain't afraid of him (cause i'm a fool for love)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> glad so many people are enjoying this so far. here's chapter 2! forgot to mention-- title's from Lord Huron's Setting Sun. chapter 2's from dina's pov, i'd like to alternate them :)

Dina didn’t know what her opinion was on Ellie, but she did know that she’d taken a liking to the younger girl. A friendly sort of liking, of course. Ellie was shy and awkward, but Dina was sure she could get the girl further out of her shell. After all, the two of them were going to be living on the same property. The prospect of having a new friend about her age living so close excited her-- even if her father was employed under Dina’s. 

As Dina headed back to the house, she checked her phone absentmindedly. No new messages from a certain someone yet, but there was Jesse, who had been texting her rather constantly. She thumbed over to his most recent message, sent only a few minutes ago.

_ How’s it going with the new kid n her dad? get them settled in the guest house yet? _

Dina was quick to reply.

_ They’re both actually like super nice :) I think you’ll like ellie, she’s pretty funny. And yeah they’re moving in rn. We invited them over for dinner too. _

She shut off her phone, smiling down at it. She tucked it into her pocket and continued walking back to the mansion. She took a deep breath of the fresh air outside before heading inside. Her mom was busy on the phone upstairs-- her dad would be home any time now. She let out a loud sigh before heading into the kitchen.

“Hey, Eugene,” Dina waved a hand up at her family’s chef, who had just arrived for the day and was wiping down the counter.

“Hey, Dina!” he responded and gave a hearty laugh. Dina found herself smiling-- she and Eugene were close, he always happened to get her spirits up no matter what kind of day it was, good or bad. “Whatcha’ thinkin’ for dinner tonight, hon?”

“The new groundkeeper and his daughter moved in today,” Dina hopped up onto the counter, crossing her legs over one another and looking up at the ceiling. “His name’s Joel. The daughter’s name is Ellie. Ellie wants pizza.”

“Ellie wants pizza,” Eugene nodded enthusiastically. “Pizza it is, then. Would you be a hand and gather some fresh veggies from the garden? Since it’s a special occasion, after all. Not too often we get a new groundkeeper. Hell, have your parents even hired one before?”

“Not in years,” Dina responded, letting out a yawn. “I think it will be a real help around, you know? Esther can’t do everything herself. Joel, he’ll be good for the yard work and outside stuff. And sure, I’ll be back in a sec.”

Dina hopped off the counter, smiling to Eugene, before heading out the side door by the kitchen. She felt the sunlight cascade over her and blinked a few times. Wyoming summers were always bright and sometimes Dina didn’t appreciate the heat. She found herself jogging down the cobblestone path to the little garden Eugene had started a few years back.

It was gated in by white planks, overgrown with ivy. Dina figured it gave it personality, but Christine didn’t appreciate the plants growing all over her house. She unlocked the latch and headed into the garden.  _ Now, what would Ellie, uh, Joel want for pizza? Tomatoes, duh. Onions...maybe? Mushrooms...okay. And pineapple? Wait, no, we don’t grow any pineapple. There’s some inside though. Probably. _

Dina was quick to gather the ingredients, not knowing exactly what Eugene would need. There was already plenty of stuff back in the kitchen, she figured the things she had gathered would certainly be enough. Dina took a basket laying on the ground and plucked a few different vegetables, the ones that looked the nicest. She wanted to leave a good impression on Joel...and Ellie.

Dina found that she really couldn’t stop thinking about Ellie. Her freckles and the slit-scar on her eyebrow especially. The way her hair was tied up so messily. The awkward but kinda cute manner in which she held herself. Her  _ eyes.  _ But she promised herself that these thoughts were friendly.  _ Ellie and I are gonna be great friends. _

\--

Dina quickly headed back up to the house, practically skipping. She opened the door and set the basket of vegetables on Eugene’s counter. “All done, Eugene! I didn’t know exactly what you wanted, but I think-”

“Hey, Dina,” a voice interrupted her. “How’s it going, honey?”

Dina looked up slowly to see her father standing in the doorway. Eugene was busy making the pizza dough in the back. Terrible, sad, and angry emotions began to bubble up in Dina, but she chose to be polite instead of losing it on her father like she did last time this happened...

“Hey, dad,” she responded, pushing the basket away from her. She lifted her head to meet his eyes. “I’m okay. New groundskeeper moved in today with his daughter.”

She wanted to yell at him, explain that it  _ hurt  _ her when he left for the two months, missed her birthday, and messed up their vacation plans for the third year in a row. But what else could she expect from her bullshitting, holier than thou, workaholic father?

“Ah. I met him out front. Joel, right?” he asked, shuffling his feet awkwardly. “He seems nice enough. Pizza for him and his daughter?”

Dina shrugged. “Yeah. Um. I’m gonna help Eugene cook if that’s okay? We can talk later I guess.”

“Sounds good, honey,” her father gave a sad smile before walking away. Dina really didn’t want to hurt him-- she loved him deep down, but he just never had the time to parent her. She felt her father loved work much more than he could ever love his family. He didn’t deserve their family.

“You said you got the veggies, right hon?” she heard Eugene’s voice from behind the counter as he headed over to her. 

“Mhm,” Dina nodded, grabbing the basket and handing them to Eugene. “Do these look okay? I didn’t know exactly what you wanted, and I don’t know what Ellie likes.”

“Mmm, well, why don’t you call her or whatever?” Eugene asked, raising an eyebrow. He opened the basket up. “Oh, Dina, these’ll work great. But you should give your friend a call anyway.” He began picking up the vegetables, grabbed a bowl, and began to run them in the water.

“Hm. You’re right. I’ll text her now,” Dina smiled, pulling out her phone. Several messages from Jesse...none from Ellie. She felt her heart sink a little, but it was no matter. Ellie probably just wasn’t comfortable texting Dina yet. She was probably too shy, Dina would just have to work a little to get her out of her shell.

She clicked Ellie’s  _ Pizza and stuff  _ contact and began to type.

_ Hey! Our chef Eugene is starting the pizza right now. Was wondering if you and your dad wanted any special toppings or anything? Just lmk :) -dina _

Dina thought that sounded fine, so she went ahead and sent it. The next few minutes were made up of Dina constantly checking her phone. She saw that Ellie had seen it and was typing on-and-off.  _ Damn, Ellie must be pretty indecisive.  _ She chuckled to herself

Eventually, Ellie responded. Dina didn’t even bother waiting as she quickly read the text to herself.

_ nothing specail needed thanks for askin though. btw joel doesnt like mushrooms of any kind so maybe you could not include them  _ Ellie’s text read.

_ Sounds good!  _ Dina responded, turning off her phone and smiling to herself. “She said everything’s good, but Joel doesn’t like mushrooms.”

“Alright, I’ll go ahead and get started, hon. Thanks for the help,” Eugene motioned to the vegetables before going back to his work. Dina hummed and left the kitchen, satisfied. She kept rereading Ellie’s text, wondering if she should say anything more. She decided against it, she didn’t want to weird the younger girl out.

\--

Thirty minutes had passed before Eugene finished the pizza. The whole time she’d been upstairs...insta-stalking for anyone named _Ellie Miller_ that fit her new friend’s profile. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find anyone who matched Ellie’s description. Maybe she just wasn’t the kind of person who used Instagram.

“Dina!” She heard Eugene’s voice from downstairs.

“Yeah?” She called down, sitting up from her bed.

“Could you give Ellie and Joel a call? Pizza’s finished and I’ve set the table,” Eugene said, his voice fading a bit as he began to walk back to the kitchen. At Ellie’s name, Dina felt her heart almost jump into her throat.

_ Why am I so excited to talk to this girl I hardly know? She doesn’t...I doubt she considers us friends. _

Dina let out a loud sigh, clicking back to Ellie’s contact and beginning to text her.

_ Hey ellie! Dinner is ready if you and joel wanna start heading down :) _

Like before, a few minutes went by of Ellie typing and stopping before Dina finally got a response.

_ on our way now, thx man  _

Dina smiled at the response, getting up out of her bed and walking down the hall. Just before she was about to turn into the staircase, she took a deep breath and headed to the bathroom. Flicking the light on she took a moment to brush her hair...and put on a little bit of makeup.

_ This isn’t for anything, in particular,  _ she ironically promised herself, combing through her hair with her fingers.  _ Just to make a good impression on them. Can’t have the groundkeeper think your family is gross. _

When Dina was satisfied with her appearance, she continued downstairs and waited by the door, holding her phone idle in her hand. Her parents were upstairs, and Eugene was serving the pizza.

The doorbell rang, and Dina scrambled to the door, unlocking it. She pushed it open and found herself smiling at the girl and her father on the other side. “Hey, excited for dinner?” she asked, letting them in.

Ellie gave a shy smile, nodding. “Dude, that smells so good. Your chef did such a good job.”

“Huh,” Joel hummed, looking down at Dina. “You really do have a chef. I figured it was another name for your dad.” 

Dina winced at the mention of her father but brushed it off quickly.

“Yeah, his name’s Eugene. I can introduce you guys after dinner!” Dina laughed, leading the pair back to the dining room. “You can sit here if you want, Joel. I was thinking Ellie could sit next to me, maybe?” She smiled up at the younger girl.

She watched as Ellie’s face formed a smile, and Dina could have sworn the younger girl had  _ blushed _ .

“Sure, yeah,” Ellie said, rubbing her neck. “That sounds good. Where are you sitting?”

“Here,” Dina pointed at a chair, and then pulled out the one next to it. “Milady.”

Ellie snorted, taking a seat. “Thanks, man. God the pizza looks good. I’m starving too, haven’t eaten since lunch.”

“For someone who eats as much as you do, you really are a string bean,” Joel chuckled.

“Joel!” Ellie gave him a glare, looking back to Dina. She laughed, sitting herself down. Dina’s parents came down the stairs, laughing amongst themselves as they joined the others at the table.

Christine smiled at Joel and Ellie, unfolding a napkin onto her lap. “Joel, you’ve met my husband, Jay,” she then turned to Ellie. “Jay, meet Ellie.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Jackson,” Ellie said with a hesitant smile.

“You too,” Dina’s father responded, and began to reach for a slice of pizza. Dina and Christine followed, and soon the platter had made its way around to everybody.

“Oh my god,” Ellie groaned from across the table, though she looked embarrassed after. “This is the best pizza I’ve ever had.”

“You hear that, Eugene?” Dina yelled with a smirk. “Ellie says this is the best pizza she’s had!”

“Manners, child,” Christine swatted at Dina with an eye-roll. “Apologies,” she looked to Joel. “Dina can be a bit  _ loud _ .”

“Oh, don’t I know it,” Joel responded with a chuckle. “Ellie here used to be quite the loudmouth. These days she’s pretty quiet...but man, can that girl swear like a sailor.”

“Joel…” Ellie muttered, covering her face and taking another bite of her pizza. Dina felt her face flush, there was something about the way Ellie acted that made Dina just want to smile and hug her. Like friends do, of course.

“So, Ellie,” Christine spoke from across the table. The younger girl looked up, glancing around awkwardly as she swallowed another bite of her pizza. “Joel mentioned you’re nineteen, right?”

“Yeah,” Ellie responded softly. “Just turned a few days ago.”

“I see,” Christine smiled. “How do you like it here so far?”

“I, uh, I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve been here long enough to judge. I haven’t been into town yet,” Ellie shrugged, taking another bite of her pizza. Dina smiled to herself, watching the other girl.

“Understood,” She nodded. “Perhaps Dina will take you around town sometime? From what I’ve heard my daughter knows all the great plazas and restaurants and stuff.”

Ellie smiled, turning her attention to Dina. “If that’s something you’d like to do, then sure.”

Dina returned her smile. “Yeah! Sometime this week I’ll take you out. You can meet some of my friends too if you want.”

Ellie’s smile drooped a bit-- Dina realized she may have overstepped. Ellie seemed like quite the shy and timid type, perhaps she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of meeting a bunch of new people. Who could blame her, though? Moving to a new place and starting a new life was stressful.

Instead of making the situation more awkward (or maybe this  _ would  _ make it more awkward…) Dina took out her phone and quickly messaged Ellie again.

_ Lol apologies for 1) my mom drilling you with questions, 2) making you the center of attention. No hard feelings? _

It was a second before Ellie’s phone buzzed. The younger girl quickly got her phone out, glanced at it, and glanced back up at Dina with a shy smile. She began to type, and after a minute, Dina had a response.

_ its ok sometimes i have like a hard time talking to people. ur cool tho :) _

Dina smiled up at Ellie.

“Oh, teenagers,” Christine sighed. “Always on their phones, aren’t they?” She looked between Dina and Ellie, and then to Joel.

“Don’t I know it,” Joel chuckled. “Seems Ellie’s always on her phone. Come on, put that away and talk with us,” he nudged Ellie to set her phone down, which she hesitantly did. Dina stole a glance from the taller girl with another smile. 

She felt a blush creep onto her face as she and her new friend kept their silent contact through the rest of dinner.

\--

About twenty minutes passed before everyone had finished their pizza. Eugene had come around and Dina had introduced him to Joel and Ellie, they seemed to get along just fine. Dina watched as Ellie headed outside, presumably for a breath of fresh air. She looked around for a second before deciding to follow the other girl out.

Ellie took a seat on the porch, looking out into the dark night. The sun had barely set, and the moon was hardly there, but it felt late out. Dina walked a bit louder than usual to alert Ellie was there, she didn’t want to startle the other girl.

Dina took a seat next to Ellie, taking a deep breath of the night air. “So,” she giggled. “What did you think of dinner?”

“Dude, it was awesome. I can’t believe you have such a good cook. May I ask, uh, were those vegetables like...fresh? Because they tasted so nice. Or maybe Wyoming just has, like, really good produce.” Ellie timidly smiled and seemed to lean a little closer to Dina. 

“They’re fresh,” Dina assured her. “Eugene has his little garden to the side of the house. It’s gated in, you’ll know it when you see it. I’m glad you liked dinner.”

Ellie nodded, taking another deep breath. Dina leaned a little closer to her, hardly noticeable, but she found that she just wanted to feel a bit closer to her new friend. “So,” Dina said quietly, her voice low. “We’ve got a pool on the property too. Do you swim?”

Ellie nodded, a gentle blush forming over her face. Dina wasn’t sure if it was from the cool night or not. “Joel taught me how to a few years back when I was first adopted. I haven’t been in a few months. I, uh, I’d like to, though.”

_ Adopted, huh.  _ Dina thought, tapping the floor absentmindedly. “Awesome. I’ll take you, be ready by 11:00?”

“Uh, sure. Sounds good,” Ellie nodded and smiled again. 

“Ellie, kiddo, ready to get going?” A deeper voice from behind them tore the two girls apart as they leaned away from each other, turning around. Joel stood in the doorway, grabbing his keys from his pocket.

“Yep,” Ellie said, getting up rather quickly. “Bye, Dina. See ya’ tomorrow,” she ran up to Joel’s side as the pair began to head out to the pickup truck. “Bye, Ellie,” Dina called out softly, feeling the warmth in her cheeks rise again as the taller girl waved goodbye to her. Was this...this wasn’t how you were normally supposed to feel around your  _ friends,  _ was it?


End file.
